Two Ethiopians considered by rights groups as among the country’s most prominent political prisoners are to be released as part of the government’s efforts to “foster national reconciliation” after almost three years of anti-regime protests. Andualem Aragie, vice president of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party and jailed for treason, and Eskinder Nega, a journalist who has been detained seven times on treason and terrorism charges, are in a group of 746 people serving sentences for terrorism, inciting violence and similar offences to be freed, the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported on Thursday.
The announcement follows the release of almost 6,400 prisoners and detainees last month. They are the first steps in what the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has ruled since 1991, has said will be an opening up of the “democratic landscape”. Analysts say the moves are tacit recognition that repression has failed to quell almost three years of protests by people across large swaths of the country, and particularly in the Oromia and Amhara regions, demanding greater democracy. Andualem was one of the cofounders of the UDJ in 2009, having already served several years in prison for opposing the government. He was detained again in September 2011 and sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2012 for “attempting to dismantle the constitution”, according to the charges. Eskinder was first arrested on treason charges in 2005 when he was editor of the newspaper Satenaw over demonstrations against the result of the 2005 general election. He was pardoned at the end of 2007 but the newspaper closed. He was arrested in September 2011 on anti-terrorism charges and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in January 2012. The following year a UN panel concluded that Eskinder’s imprisonment was “a result of his peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression”.
Commenting on the news that journalist and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience Eskinder Nega will be among 746 prisoners released as part of a government pardon, Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said“It is wonderful news that this brave journalist will soon walk to freedom after seven years spent in jail simply for doing his job. He should not have spent a single day behind bars.”
“But the world must not lose sight of the thousands of other people still languishing in jail on trumped up and politically-motivated terrorism charges, including Bekele Gerba, Addisu Bulala, Woubshet Taye. All prisoners of conscience must be released immediately and unconditionally and compensated for the grave injustices done to them.”
(Compiled from Agencies)

Over 250,000 visitors have seen GERD over the last seven years

Simegnew Bekele (Eng.), manager of the Great Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) said over 250,000 people visited the dam during the last seven years. According to him, government and private employees, more than 200 international media, and diplomatic missions including Egypt and Sudan visited the dam.
Simegnew, met more than 40 local journalists, saying that the huge number of visitors is a reflection of the dam bringing about an Ethiopian renaissance.
“The visits that have occurred so far are giving us energy to do our work day and night. It also gives us an opportunity to provide a clear picture to foreigners or others who had the wrong perception of it.’’
He added that more than eight million metric tons of materials have been used on the dam so far and that the work is going well and will soon benefit Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia.
Capital asked why the officials in GERD were not very open to the media and did not give out much information.
“The way we have been going so far is very good, when information is needed we give it when there is a time to be clam we tend to keep quiet. Like the head of a house who administers his family by overcoming many challenges we are building GERD with some challenges. However problems do not last forever, they will be forgotten when it is finished,’’ he said.
According to Simegnew the true plan of the dam will be understood when Ethiopia completes it.
“When we divert the flow of the Nile river, many foreign media stated it would negatively impact other Blue Nile tributary countries but it will not and some others are still reporting that the construction of GERD has an impact on Egypt but we will show them that the dam will not affect Egypt or another country.”
“The Nile was just a song for Ethiopians but this generation has begun a project to get something from it, to get some power and to use the dam as a service that will attract tourists and we are happy to construct the dam for this purpose .’’
The GERD has been under construction since 2011. It is in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, about 15 km (9 mi) east of the Sudan border. At 6,450 MW, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed, as well as the 7th largest in the world. The main contractor is the Italian company Salini Costruttori, which also served as primary contractor for the Gilgel Gibe II, Gibe III and Tana Beles dams. The electro mechanical and other work is done by the state owned Metal and Engineering Cooperation.

Trade Bureau investigating increment
The Addis Ababa Trade Bureau says they are disappointed in the recent double price increase of red pepper and they plan to investigate if hording or price gouging are the culprits. Two weeks ago red pepper was less than 60 birr per kilo. Now it is selling for 100 to 130 birr.
It is the second highest increase since 2013 when it was sold for 230 birr per kilo. The investigation began last Monday and will examine the distribution channel, production volume and the market. They plan to return with a verdict in the next two weeks.
When Capital visited markets in Bole Michael a kilo of Berbere from the Gojam area is sold for 100 birr. The sales person said the increase is seasonal and will decrease shortly. Another seller said the price has been going down since Friday.
“The Berbere market is frequently on a rollercoaster so it is not surprising that it is being sold for 100 birr now and will likely go down soon,” they said. However, Trade Bureau officials told Capital that they are not convinced and want to find out more.
The red pepper in Addis largely comes from Markeo, Chagni and Bure areas.
Ethiopia harvests the 8th most red pepper in the world. It is still the country’s leading vegetable product and a major spice in Ethiopian cuisine.
The exact time of introduction of pepper to Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular is not certainly known. But its history in the country is perhaps more ancient than the history of any other vegetable product. Moreover, hot pepper has been cultivated in Ethiopia for a long period of time.

The Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) has invited opposition party members based in Ethiopia and overseas to work together with the goal of realizing a democratic system in the country and the region of Oromia.
Part of the ruling coalition, EPRDF, OPDO leaders have taken several and extraordinary measures in the past few months. This is a detour from the usual trend under EPRDF. This has occurred after EPRDF concluded its ten day evaluation meeting which passed several new decisions with the goal of expanding the reconciliation and democratic process that have accepted several political elites and opposition leaders who have stood against the ruling party.
In its communiqué issued in the middle of this week, the central committee of OPDO invited opposition politicians and political parties to work together.
Experts said that the communiqué has several new moves that had not been observed in the past under the country’s political system. They appreciated the decision of the ethnic based political party that has ruled the Oromia region since the first election in 1995 and part of the federal ruling party with majority seats at the parliament.
Since it said it would work with opposition parties because the situation in the country is ruffled, a political party that recently formed outside the country accepted and appreciated the move from OPDO.
The Oromo Democratic Front (ODF) established by a veteran politician Lencho Leta, a former leader of the Oromo Liberation Front, said it has accepted the new move of OPDO.
“We believe the call is timely and a major step in the right direction. And we therefore wholeheartedly welcome and accept OPDO’s call. While commending and applauding OPDO for the bold move, we want to take this opportunity to express our willingness and readiness to work with it not only to realize the aspirations of the Oromo people but also to make Ethiopia’s federation genuinely democratic and multi-national, for which we have been advocating since the founding of our organization,” ODF said in a statement.
“To this effect, our organization and its leadership is ready to meet its counterparts in OPDO forthwith,” it added.
The OPDO leadership led by Lemma Megersa, has also stated that it has replaced 14 Central Committee Members of OPDO with capable individuals for a further strong struggle. It has also announced that it suspended four members until the coming assembly, while the committee has also given a warning to an un-named member of the Central Committee.
The committee has passed several decisions with the goal of transferring the demand of the general public in the region and the country.
Political commentators stated that most of the decisions that OPDO passed is unusual and a new direction for the country and the party.
In the past three years political instability in Oromia and Amhara has forced the ruling EPRDF to adopt several reforms including calling opposition parties in the country for dialog on some of the laws with the goal that it called a direction for further political and democracy reforms.
In recent weeks the leaders of four parties that formed EPRDF announced that political leaders and some other activists would be released with the goal of reconciliation and that was followed by the release of Merara Gudina (PhD), a prominent opposition leader since the Derg regime, and other prisoners.